Man admits murdering former partner by kicking and stamping her to death in Clare

Sharon Bennett was a mother of two girls, then aged nine and six, from a previous relationship.

Patrick Ballard (pictured) had initially pleaded not guilty to murdering Sharon Bennett by kicking and stamping her to death in a public toilet in Co. Clare last year.

A man has pleaded guilty two days into his trial at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of his former partner, who he kicked and stamped to death in a public toilet in Co. Clare last year.

Defence counsel Mark Nicholas SC, for Patrick Ballard, previously told a jury of seven men and five women that his client admitted his actions caused the death of his partner and accepted that her killing was unlawful.